In the process of shipping an item from one location to another, a protective packaging material is typically placed in the shipping container to fill any voids and/or to cushion the item during the shipping process. Some commonly used protective packaging materials are plastic foam peanuts and plastic bubble pack. While these conventional plastic materials seem to perform adequately as cushioning products, they are not without disadvantages. Perhaps the most serious drawback of plastic bubble wrap and/or plastic foam peanuts is their effect on our environment. Quite simply, these plastic packaging materials are not biodegradable and thus they cannot avoid further multiplying our planet's already critical waste disposal problems. The non-biodegradability of these packaging materials has become increasingly important in light of many industries adopting more progressive policies in terms of environmental responsibility.
The foregoing and other disadvantages of conventional plastic packaging materials have made paper protective packaging material a very popular alterative. Paper is biodegradable, recyclable and renewable; making it an environmentally responsible choice for conscientious companies.
While paper in sheet form could possibly be used as a protective packaging material, it is usually preferable to convert the sheets of paper into a low density cushioning product. This conversion may be accomplished by a cushioning conversion machine, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,026,198; 4,085,662; 4,109,040; 4,237,776; 4,557,716; 4,650,456; 4,717,613; 4,750,896; 4,968,291; 5,123,889; and 5,322,477. (These patents are all assigned to the assignee of the present invention and their entire disclosures are hereby incorporated by reference.) Such a cushioning conversion machine converts sheet-like stock material, such as paper in multi-ply form, into low density cushioning products, or pads.
A cushioning conversion machine, such as those disclosed in the above-identified patents, includes a machine frame having an upstream end and a downstream end. ("Upstream" and "downstream" in this context corresponds to the flow of stock material through the machine.) The conversion assembly of such a machine may include a stock supply assembly, a forming assembly, a feed assembly, and a separating assembly, some or all of which are mounted on the machine's frame. During operation of such a cushioning conversion machine, the stock supply assembly supplies the stock material to the forming assembly. The forming assembly causes inward rolling of the lateral edges of the sheet-like stock material to form a three-dimensional strip of dunnage. The feed assembly pulls the stock material from the stock supply assembly and advances it through the forming assembly to form the continuous strip. The dunnage strip then travels downstream to the separating assembly (preferably a cutting assembly) which separates/cuts the coined strip into cushioning products of a desired length.
The cushioning products emerge from the machine's outlet at an appropriate exit location. The appropriate exit location for the cushioning products depends greatly upon the particular packaging situation in which the cushioning conversion machine is employed. For example, if short cushioning products are to be accumulated in a receptacle positioned below the machine outlet, an appropriate exit location would be at low elevation near the receptacle's opening. Alternatively, if longer cushioning products are to be used to package articles situated on a table, an appropriate location would be at higher elevation, adjacent the table's work platform.
In the past, an appropriate exit location has been acquired by adjusting the height of the machine to the desired location. For example, an elevated exit location has been acquired by placing stilts on a self-standing machine which elevate the machine (and thus its outlet) to the appropriate height of the exit location. (See e.g., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/155,155.) Also, an appropriate exit location has been obtained by placing a machine on a cart and adjusting the vertical height of the cart (and thus the machine and its outlet opening). Adjustments have additionally been accomplished by using a machine mounting stand in which the machine (and thus its outlet opening) may be vertically and/or angularly adjusted relative to the stand, such as the stand disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,477.
While the above-discussed stilts, carts, and/or stands have been successful in establishing an appropriate exit location in many circumstances, they do not address all situations. For example, while stilts are effective in elevating the exit location of the machine, they are unable to lower the exit location. Also, carts have conventionally provided only a limited range of vertical adjustment compatibility. As for machine-mounting stands, they are sometimes incompatible with existing packaging systems because the stands may interfere with other equipment. Moreover, with such stilts, carts and/or stands, providing a plurality of exit locations requires adjustment of the entire machine.
An appropriate exit location has also been accomplished in the past by providing a fixed outlet extension forming a continuous passageway from the machine's outlet to the desired exit location. (See e.g., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/155,931, assigned to the assignee of the present invention.) However, such an outlet extension does not provide convenient adjustment to a different exit location in that a different outlet extension would have to be provided for each desired exit location. As such, adjustment of the exit location requires removing the extension and perhaps replacing it with a different extension.
Accordingly, a need remains for a cushioning conversion machine in which the exit location of the cushioning products could be adjusted without adjusting the position of the machine and/or without changing outlet extensions.